It has been rather quiet on the Chelsea transfer front of late. Following a hectic summer at Stamford Bridge with players coming and going, things have slowed down slightly when it comes to making changes to Enzo Maresca’s squad.
The last transfer deal the Blues completed was Armando Broja securing a permanent move to Burnley on Friday, August 8. We are now less than two weeks away from the summer window closing for business and that means the club are going to have to step it up if they want to get more deals over the line.
The transfer window slams shut at 7pm on Monday, September 1, which is four hours earlier than the usual 11pm deadline. As ever, all the talk will be about players coming in through the door at Stamford Bridge as Maresca looks to add even more quality to his Chelsea squad.
Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho continue to be linked with a move to west London and the boss also made it clear that he would like a new centre-back to come in amid the ACL injury that will see Levi Colwill miss most of the season. “The club know exactly what I think,” said Maresca on the solution to replacing the England international in his squad.
“I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think.”
Chelsea return to action on Friday evening with an away game at West Ham. The Blues recorded a point on the opening weekend of the new season following a draw against Crystal Palace and they will be hoping that their first league win arrives in east London.
Chelsea supporters will no doubt be keeping their fingers crossed that the club can bring in a new addition or two before the team visit the London Stadium. As the game is on Friday this week, it doesn’t give a lot of time for a potential new signing to complete a move to the club, try and bed in and then be ready to go at West Ham.
If the Club World Cup holders are to get a new signing finalised and they want to play them against Graham Potter’s side then they do have a strict deadline to meet. The rule U.23 of the Premier League handbook states that: “…the registration of a player shall be 12 noon on the last working day before the date of the first league match in which the club making the application intends him to play..”
So, that means Chelsea would have to register any new player by 12pm on Thursday, August 21 for them to be eligible to face West Ham the following day. If not, their debut would have to wait until Saturday, August 30 when the team host west London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
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